Northern District of California’s Judge Claudia Wilken denied plaintiff’s motions for summary judgment sending several lawsuits against Abbott Laboratories to the jury. Plaintiffs allege that Abbott raised the price of its HIV drug Norvir in order to protect a separate drug, Kaletra, from competition. Judge Wilken said that the case could go forward on theories that Abbott engaged in predatory pricing and violations of its antitrust duty to deal.
Novir is an HIV drug that when combined with other protease inhibitors, would boost the properties of the combined drugs. Kaletra is Abbott’s combination of both Novir and PI lopnavir that competes in the “boosting market.” Plaintiffs allege that Kaletra held 75% of the boosting market, but its share declined when competitors entered the market and in response Abbott raised the price of Novir by 400% to maintain its monopoly. Novir is the only drug that allows the boosting effect to occur.